Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02393961 2002-07-17
HOUSING FOR ENCLOSING THE JUNCTURE BETWEEN A ROOF AND A
CONDUIT EXTENDING THROUGH THE ROOF
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to housings for placement on roofs and, in
particular, to
conduit housings for enclosing the juncture between a roof and a conduit (for
example, a pipe
or a cable) extending upwardly through the roof.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
When a building is constructed, one or more conduits, each having a particular
purpose, may extend upwardly through the roof. Once past the juncture between
the roof and
1o the conduit, any given conduit may extend for a relatively short distance
(e.g. a vent pipe), an
intermediate distance (e.g. a pipe leading to an air conditioner or other
external utility placed
elsewhere on the roof), or a relatively long distance (e.g. a cable carrying
electrical wires to
power lines, telephone lines or other external utility distant from the roof).
In all cases, it is
of course important to ensure that the juncture between the roof and the
conduit is adequately
sealed to prevent leakage through the roof. Typically, required sealing is
accomplished with
the aid of housings or flashings that are integrated with the structure of the
roof.
After a building is constructed (typically and hopefully years after), it may
become
necessary to re-surface the roof of the building. When this necessity arises,
those conduits
that extend through the roof and which are connected to external utilities
such as those
mentioned above often present a problem. Existing conduit housings often must
be removed
and replaced. However, their structure typically does not admit to replacement
without first
disconnecting the conduits from the utilities to which they are connected,
then installing the
replacement housing, then reconnecting the conduits to their respective
utilities. The cost of
breaking and remaking such connections can add significantly to the cost of re-
surfacing a
roof.
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved
conduit
housing for enclosing the juncture between a roof and a conduit extending
through the roof,
and which can be quickly and easily installed while the conduit is connected
to an external
utility.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a conduit housing of the
foregoing type that can be manufactured in minimal parts off site and
subsequently
assembled and installed on site with minimal labor.
In one aspect of the present invention, a further object is to provide a
conduit housing
of the foregoing type which is particularly well adapted for cases where the
conduit is a
flexible cable.
In another aspect of the present invention, a further object is to provide a
conduit
housing of the foregoing type which is particularly well adapted for cases
where the conduit
is a rigid pipe extending upwardly through a roof then horizontally above and
across the roof.
SU.MMARY OF THE INVENTION
1.5 In a broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a conduit
housing for
enclosing the juncture between a roof and an elongated conduit while the
conduit is in situ.
The conduit comprises a first portion extending upwardly through the roof and
a second
portion extending horizontally above the roof. The housing comprises first and
second base
sections, a hood, and a conduit opening extending through a side wall of the
housing. In one
embodiment, the side wall is a side wall of one of the base sections. In
another embodiment,
the side wall is a side wall of the hood.
The base sections are horizontally slidably engageable on the roof with each
other
around the conduit to form a base assembly. The base assembly has an open top
and extends
peripherally around an interior region containing at least a lower portion of
the first portion
of conduit. The hood is engageable with the base assembly to cover at least
the open top of
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
the base assembly. The conduit opening is sized to provide a passage for the
second portion
of the conduit from within the interior region to an external region outside
the housing.
In preferred embodiments, the base assembly comprises four sides adjoined to
define
the interior region, each of the sides comprising an outwardly extending base
flange
securable to the roof, an intermediate side wall extending on a cant upwardly
and inwardly
from the base flange; and, an upper side wall extending substantially
vertically from the
intermediate side wall to the open top. Three of the four sides are preferably
associated with
one of the two base sections while the remaining fourth side is associated
with the other of
the two base sections. When engaged to form the base assembly, the separate
identity of the
two base sections is lost for all practical purposes. However, the resulting
assembly is one
which easily can be integrated with the structure of a roof using conventional
roofing
practices.
In an embodiment preferred for cases where the conduit is a flexible cable,
the
conduit opening extends down from the top of one of the upper side walls of
the base
assembly. Further, a conduit channel preferably extends outwardly from the
conduit
opening, the channel being sized to provide a passage for the conduit/cable
for a distance
outwardly from the opening. The hood is sized to cover both the open top of
the base
assembly and said channel.
In an embodiment preferred for cases where the conduit is a rigid pipe, the
hood
comprises a top wall and side walls extending downwardly from the top wall to
an open
bottom. Upper side walls of the base assembly extend upwardly wholly within
the side walls
of the hood, and the conduit opening is located in a front one of the side
walls of the hood.
In cases where it is desired to have a structure that easily can be easily
adapted to pipes
extending horizontally above roofs at differing elevations, the front one of
the side walls
advantageously includes an elongated slot extending upwardly from the open
bottom of the
hood, and the conduit opening is an opening between a longitudinally abutting
pair of panels
extending across the slot while slidably engaged with the front one of the
side walls.
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
The foregoing and other features of the present invention, and resulting
advantages,
will now be described with reference to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. I is a perspective view of a housing in accordance with the present
invention
used to enclose the juncture between a roof and an elongated flexible cable
extending
upwardly through the roof. For the purpose of illustration, integration of the
housing with
the roof is not shown.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the housing shown in FIG. I with its hood
removed.
FIG. 3 is section elevation view taken in a plane containing section line 3-3
in FIG. 1,
1o and illustrates the integration of the housing shown in FIG. 1 with a roof.
FIG. 4 is a section elevation view taken along section line 4-4 in FIG. 3, and
also
shows the integration of the housing shown in FIG. I with a roof.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the housing shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a section view illustrating engagement between walls fomiing part of
the
housing shown in FIG. 1.
FIG 7 is a top view illustrating the relationship between selected base
flanges forming
part of the housing shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a housing in accordance with the present
invention
used to enclose the juncture between a roof and a pipe extending upwardly
through the roof.
2o For the purpose of illustration, integration of the housing with the roof
is not shown.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the base assembly forming part of the housing
shown
in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the base assembly shown in FIG. 9
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
FIG. 11 is section elevation view taken in a plane containing section line l 1-
1. l. in
FIG. 8, and illustrates the integration of the housing shown in FIG. 8 with a
roof.
FIG. 12 is a section elevation view taken along section line 12-12 in FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the hood forming part of the
housing
shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the hood shown in FIG. 13 when assembled.
FIG. 15 is a bottom plan view of the hood shown in FIG. 14.
FIG. 16 is a rear elevation view of the slide panels forming part of the hood
shown in
FIG. 14.
FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view showing final steps in the assembly of
the
hood shown in FIG. 13 with the base assembly shown in FIG. 9 to provide the
housing
shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a housing substantially the same as the
housing
shown in FIG. 8, the one difference being that the lengths of the slide panels
in the hood have
been altered to accommodate a pipe which is higher than the pipe shown in FIG.
8.
DETAII.ED DESCRIPTION
Three conduit housings in accordance with the present invention are shown in
the
drawings. The first as shown in FIGS. 1-7 is a housing generally designated
100 used to
enclose ajuncture 510 between a roof 500 and an elongated flexible cable 600
extending
upwardly through the roof. The second as shown in FIGS. 8-17 is a housing
generally
designated 200 used to enclose ajuncture 511 between roof 500 and a pipe 700.
The third as
shown in FIG. 18 is a housing generally designated 300 used to enclose a
juncture (not
shown) between roof 500 and a pipe 800.
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
Embodiment Shown in Figs. 1-7
Housing 100 includes first and second base sections generally designated 110,
170
(see FIG. 5) slidably engageable with each other to form a four-sided base
assembly
generally designated 101 (see FIG. 2); and a hood 190. A conduit opening 166
extends
through side wall 160 of the base assembly, and a U-shaped conduit channel 195
extends
outwardly from the opening. Channel 195 is sized to provide a passage for
cable 600 for a
distance outwardly from opening 166 and is preferably capped by lid 196 which
slidingly fits
over the sides of the channel. Hood 190 is engageable with base assembly 101
to cover both
the open top defined by perimeter 105 and channel 195. Apart from fasteners or
welds (not
shown) that may be used to join various parts, the entire housing is
preferably fabricated
from thin sheet metal such as aluminum.
Base section 110 has a generally three-sided construction, two of the three
sides being
opposed to each other and extending in parallel; the third side transversely
interconnecting
the opposed sides. The opposed sides have a mirror image construction.
One of the opposed sides includes an outwardly extending base flange 112, an
intermediate side wall 116 merging with and extending on a cant (preferably
about 45
degrees) upwardly and inwardly from flange 112; and an upper side wall 120
merging with
and extending vertically from wall 116 to perimeter 105. An inverted L-shaped
flange 125
extends outwardly from the top of wa11120 to provide a counter-flashing.
Similarly, the
other of the opposed sides includes an outwardly extending base flange 132, an
intermediate
side wall 136 merging with and extending on a cant (again about 45 degrees)
upwardly and
inwardly from flange 132; and an upper side wall 140 merging with and
extending vertically
from wall 136 to perimeter 105. An inverted L-shaped flange 145 extends
outwardly from
the top of wall 140 to provide a counter-flashing.
The transverse interconnecting side of base section 110 includes an outwardly
extending base flange 152 transversely interconnecting base flanges 112, 132;
an
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
intermediate side wall 156 transversely interconnecting intermediate side
walls 116, 136; and
an upper side wall 160 transversely interconnecting upper side walls 120, 140.
Inverted L-
shaped upper flanges 165a, 165b extend outwardly from the top of wa11160 to
provide a
counter-flashing.
Base section 170 forms the remaining side of base assembly 101. As best seen
in
FIG. 5, it includes an outwardly extending base flange 172; an intermediate
side wall 176
extending on a cant upwardly and inwardly from flange 172; and an upper side
wall 180
extending substantially vertically from wall 176 to perimeter 105. Wall 176
includes a pair
of flanges 177, 178 bent inwardly at angles of 90 degrees from opposed ends of
wall 156.
Likewise, wall 180 includes a pair of flanges 181, 182 bent inwardly at angles
of 90 degrees
from opposed ends of wall 180. An inverted I rshaped upper flange 185 extends
outwardly
from the top of wall 180 to provide a counter-flashing.
To facilitate sliding engagement between base sections 110 and 170, and as
best seen
in FIGS. 3 and 6, wall 120 includes a folded end 121 bent to form an elongated
channel 122,
and wall 140 includes a folded end 141 bent to form an elongated channel 142.
Similarly,
wall 136 includes a folded end 137 (shown in FIG. 3 only) bent to form an
elongated channel
138, and wall 116 includes a corresponding mirror image folded end (not
shown). When
base sections 110, 170 are brought together from the exploded positions shown
in FIG. 5,
channel 122 of wall 120 slidingly receives flange 181 of wall 180, and channel
142 of wall
140 slidingly receives flange 182 of wall 180. Concurrently, channel 138 of
wall 136
slidingly receives flange 178 of wall 176, and the corresponding channel (not
shown) of wall
116 slidingly receives flange 177 of wall 176. As an aside, it readily will be
apparent that
FIG. 6 is representative not only of the engagement of wall 180 with walls
120, 140 but also
of the engagement of wall 176 with walls 116, 136.
With reference to FIG. 7, it will be noted that an extended end 173 of flange
172
underlies flange 112. Although not shown, a corresponding extension at the
other end af
flange 172 likewise underlies flange 132. The purpose is to provide added
stability to base
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
assembly 101 when base sections 110, 170 are first engaged. When the sections
are brought
together, section 110 is toleranced such that the extended ends of flange 172
will frictionally
slide under flanges 132, 172 thereby better holding the sections in place
until further work is
done. Extended end 173 is also indicated in FIG. 5.
Installation and Use
In use, the first step is to fabricate the discrete components of housing 100
as shown
in FIG. 5(viz. base sections 110, 170, hood 190 and lid 196). To minimize the
amount of
work required at a building site, and to take advantage of production scale
efficiencies, this
work is preferably done in a metal fabrication plant. The discrete components
are then
lo shipped to the building site.
Once at the building site, and with flexible cable 600 already extending in
situ
through roof 500 at juncture 510, the next step is to position base section
110 on roof 500 in
the position shown in FIG. 3, thereby peripherally enclosing three sides of
interior region
108. (Interior region 108 is that portion of the base assembly interior which
lies below the
bottom of opening 166. Cable 600, which extends from juncture 510 upwardly
within region
108, is directed from region 108 through conduit opening 166 and channel 195.)
Next, base section 170 is slidingly engaged with base section 110, and lid 196
is
slidingly engaged with channel 195, the resulting assembly being like that
shown in FIG. 2.
At this point, interior region 108 if fully enclosed around its periphery.
Flanges 112, 132,
152, 172 are then secured to roof 500 by means of suitable fasteners 102 (see
FIG. 1).
Further, lid 196 is preferably secured to channel 195 by means of suitable
fasteners (not
shown).
When lid 196 is in place, cable 600 is preferably sealed within channel 195. A
suitable seal can be achieved using a commercially available expandable foam
sealant which
will expand around the cable and be bounded by channel 195 and lid 196.
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
Next, hood 190 is positioned atop the base assembly and secured with suitable
fasteners 103 (see FIG. 1). Juncture 510 between roof 500 and cable 600 is now
fully
enclosed.
Finally, and as shown in FIGS. 3-4, housing 100 is fully integrated with roof
500
when roof 500 is itself completed by the addition of a roofing surface 501.
Roofing surface
501 extends across roof 500, over flanges 112, 132, 152, 172, and is then
formed upwardly
and over intermediate walls 116, 136, 156, 176 and upper side walls 120, 140,
160, 180.
Such surfacing techniques and the materials used are well known in the art and
will not be
described here in further detail.
Considering, for example, that cable 600 may be a cable carrying power lines,
telephone lines, or the like, it will be apparent that it may remain fully in
situ during the
installation of housing 100 and that there will be no need to disconnect the
cable from
utilities (not shown) in the region external to the housing. Further, it will
be apparent that
minimal work is required on site to assemble the housing and to integrate it
with roof 500.
Embodiments Shown in FIGS. 8-17 and in FIG. 18
Housing 200 includes first and second base sections generally designated 210,
220
(see FIG. 10) slidably engageable with each other to form a four-sided base
assembly
generally designated 201 (see FIG. 9); and a hood generally designated 250. As
in the case
of housing 100, housing 200 is preferably fabricated from thin sheet metal
such as aluminum.
Except for the following differences, base assembly 201 has substantially the
same
construction as base assembly 101:
= Base assembly 201 does not include flanges like inverted L-shaped flanges
125,
145, 165a, 165b, 185. Instead, base assembly 201 includes flanges 230, 231,
232,
233 extending for a short distance inwardly from the upper side walls of the
assembly to bound an open top defined by perimeter 205 (see FIG. 10) along the
inner edges of flanges 230, 231, 232, 233.
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CA 02393961 2006-09-06
= Base assembly 201 does not include a wall opening like upper wall opening
166,
or a U-shaped conduit channel like channel 195. Necessarily, it does not
include a
lid like lid 196. Pipe 700 which passes through base assembly 201 exits the
assembly through the open top defined by perimeter 205 rather than through a
side
wall of the assembly.
= Base assembly 201 extends peripherally around a defined interior region 208
(see
FIGS. 11, 12). However, unlike interior region 108 of base assembly 101(which
by definition is that portion of the interior below opening 166 (see FIG. 3)),
interior region 208 of base assembly 201 is the entire interior region of the
base
assembly.
Since base assembly 201 is otherwise substantially the same as base assembly
101,
including flanges and channels to facilitate sliding engagement of base
sections 210, 220, the
construction of base assembly 201 and its parts will not be discussed in
further detail.
Hood 250 is engageable with base assembly 201 to cover the entire upper wall
structure of base assembly 201 including the open top defined by perimeter
205. Hood 250
includes a top wall 251, parallel opposed side walls 252, 253, a rear side
wall 254 extending
transversely between side walls 252, 253, and a front side wa11255 also
extending
transversely between side walls 252, 253. All side walls extend downwardly
from top wall
250 to an open bottom 256 (see FIG. 11).
Front side wall 255 includes a centrally disposed elongated slot 260 extending
upwardly from open bottom 256 for a substantial part of the wall height and,
when assembled
as shown in FIGS. 11-12, well above the top of base assembly 201. As best seen
in FIGS.
13, 15, guide rails 261, 262 formed integrally with wall 255 extend lengthwise
on opposed
sides of slot 260.
Guide rails 261, 262 are sized and positioned to carry a pair of panels 270,
275 each
of which extend across slot 260. Panels 270, 275 include opposed flanges 271,
272 and 276,
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
277, respectively, for slidingly engaging the rails and thus wall 255. As
indicated in FIG. 13,
the panels are received longitudinally by rails 261, 262. When fully received,
and as best
seen in FIGS. 8, 14 the two panels are in longitudinal abutment; the bottom of
panel 270
abutting the top of pane1275. This position of abutment is also illustrated in
FIG. 16.
The bottom of panel 270 includes a downwardly facing semicircular recess 273.
The
top of panel 275 includes an upwardly facing semicircular recess 278. Both
recesses have
the same radius and are positioned to form a circular conduit opening 280 when
panels 270,
275 are brought into longitudinal abutment. As best indicated in FIGS. 8, 11
and 12, opening
280 is sized to provide a passage for pipe 700.
1o Installation and Use
In use, the first step is to fabricate the discrete components of housing 200
as shown
in FIGS. 10 and 15 (viz. base sections 210, 220 and hood 250 including panels
270, 275). As
in the case of housing 100, this work is preferably done in a metal
fabrication plant and not at
the building site.
However, if the height of pipe 700 is not precisely known at the time of
fabrication,
then it may be considered desirable to initially fabricate the length of at
least one of panels
270, 275 to a length approaching the length of slot 260. Then, at the building
site, the height
of pipe 700 can be measured, and the lengths of the panels can be easily
trimmed on site to
accommodate the circumstances. Such circumstances are highlighted by the
example of
2o FIG. 18 where pipe 800 extends horizontally at an elevation significantly
higher than the
elevation of pipe 700 in FIG. 8. The embodiment shown in FIG. 18, includes a
base
assembly 201 as in the case of FIG. 8, and a hood 250a having panels 270a,
275a slidingly
engaged with front wall 255. The only difference between hood 250a and hood
250 is that
the length of panel 270a is significantly shorter than the length of panel 270
and the length of
panel 275a is significantly longer than the length of panel 275. Consequently,
conduit
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
opening 280a for pipe 800 is significantly higher than conduit opening 280 for
pipe 700.
Otherwise, housing 300 is substantially the same as housing 200.
Continuing with the description of the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 8-17, the
first
step at a building site is to assemble base sections 210, 220 as shown in FIG.
10 to form base
assembly 201 around pipe 700 as shown in the lower part of FIG. 17. As shown
in FIGS. 11-
12 and 17, pipe 700 then extends upwardly from juncture 511 through interior
region 208 of
base assembly 201 to elbow 701 of the pipe. From elbow 701, pipe 700 extends
horizontally
above the top of base assembly 201 and above roof 500.
Next, the base flanges of base assembly 201 are secured to roof 500 by means
of
suitable fasteners. Then, before the addition of hood 250, base assembly 201
is integrated
with roof 500 when the roof is completed with roofing surface 502. As
indicated in FIGS.
11-12, roofing surface 502 extends across roof 500 and over the base flanges
of base
assembly 201, and is then formed upwardly and over the intermediate and upper
side walls of
base assembly 201.
Then, housing 200 is completed with the addition of hood 250. Assuming that
panels
270, 275 have already been cut to length, the first completion step is to
engage panel 270
with front wall 255 of the hood. Then, with panel 270 engaged and panel 275
manually held
below pipe 700 as shown in FIG. 17, the next step is to lower the hood (except
pane1275)
down over base assembly 201 with pipe 700 extending through slot 260.
Concurrently, panel
275 is maneuvered into sliding engagement with rails 261, 262 during the
lowering process.
The lowering continues until the bottoms of side walls 252, 253 come to rest
on roofing
surface 502 atop base assembly 201. If necessary, final adjustments are made
to the
positions of panels 270, 275 so that they are in longitudinal abutment. Note:
If it is found
that panel 270 was cut a bit too short, then it may be lowered on rails 261,
262 to a limited
degree without undesirably exposing the top of slot 260.
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
From FIG. 12, it will be noted that the width of hood 250 between side walls
252, 253
is sufficient to accommodate not only the upper width of base assembly 201,
but also the
thickness of roofing surface 502 as it extends over the upper side walls of
base assembly 201.
To prevent excessive left to right movement of the hood relative to base
assembly 201 as
shown in FIG. 12, the combined horizontal distance between side walls 252, 253
and the
vertically extending parts of roofing surface 502 preferably is small.
From FIG. 13, it will be noted that the width of hood 250 between rear side
wall 254
and front side wall 255 is significantly greater than the upper width of base
assembly 201.
Relative to base assembly 101, hood 250 is positioned maximally to the right
in FIG. 13.
1o This is a preferred position because three of the four side walls of hood
250 (front side wall
255 being the exception) are then resting on roofing surface 502 atop base
assembly 201.
Further, front side wall 255 preferably is positioned a distance away from
roofing surface
502 when hood 250 is positioned maximally to the right as in FIG. 13. This
distance creates
working room to adjust the position of panel 275. Further, if it is found that
panel 275 was
cut a bit too short, then the room will permit the panel to extend to a
limited degree below the
bottom of front side wall 255.
When hood 250 is finally positioned, it may be considered loosely engaged with
the
base assembly. The entire upper side wall structure of base assembly 201,
including the open
top defined by perimeter 205, is now covered. As well, juncture 511 between
roof 500 and
pipe 700 is now fully enclosed. The final position is preferably secured by
fastening hood
250 to the base assembly. This may be done quickly and simply with a pair of
screws, one
through side wall 252 and into base assembly 201 (viz. screw 204 depicted in
FIG. 8); the
other (not shown) through opposed side wall 253 and into base assembly 201.
Finally, it normally will be considered desirable to seal opening 280 around
pipe 700.
Various commercially available sealants can serve this purpose, for example,
silicone
sealants. The use of such sealants also can compensate for situations where
panels 270, 275
are not brought into longitudinal abutment to actually touch one another. If a
small gap is
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CA 02393961 2002-07-17
present, then the sealant may be used to fill both opening 280 and the gap,
thereby bringing
the panels into abutment via the sealant.
Considering, for example, that pipe 700 may be a pipe connecting to an air
conditioner or some other utility (not shown) in a region extemal to housing
200, it wili be
apparent that it may remain fully in situ during the installation of housing
200 and that there
will be no need to disconnect the pipe from the utility. Further, it will be
apparent that
minimal work is required on site to assemble the housing and to integrate it
with roof 500.
Variations
In principle, it will be evident that a housing having the same general
construction as
housing 100 could be used for a rigid pipe conduit rather than a flexible
cable conduit such as
cable 600, or that a housing having the same general construction as housing
200 could be
used for a flexible cable conduit rather than rigid pipe conduit such as pipe
700.
Further, is to be understood that various modifications and changes can be
made to
the form, details, arrangement and proportion of the various parts described
with reference to
the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the
present invention.
The invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments
that have been
described and should be understood as encompassing those embodiments which are
within
the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.
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